No. 4 Louisville whips 'Nova; G-town, 'Cuse battle today

NEW YORK (AP) — Russ Smith scored 28 points in a bittersweet homecoming, leading No. 4 Louisville into the Big East tournament semifinals with a 74-55 victory over Villanova on Thursday night only hours after the death of his esteemed high school coach.

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Posted Mar. 15, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Posted Mar. 15, 2013 at 12:01 AM

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NEW YORK (AP) — Russ Smith scored 28 points in a bittersweet homecoming, leading No. 4 Louisville into the Big East tournament semifinals with a 74-55 victory over Villanova on Thursday night only hours after the death of his esteemed high school coach.

Smith and the defending champion Cardinals (27-5) harassed Villanova into 25 turnovers and advanced to play Notre Dame or Marquette in the late game tonight at Madison Square Garden.

Luke Hancock added 12 points off the bench for second-seeded Louisville, which has won eight straight.

NEW YORK — Conference player of the year Otto Porter Jr. scored 18 points as top-seeded Georgetown advanced to the Big East tournament semifinals by pulling away from Cincinnati.

Porter made all 11 of his free throws to offset a 3-for-9 performance from the field.

Markel Starks had 14 points and reserve D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera added 13, including a tiebreaking 3-pointer that sparked a game-turning run for the Hoyas (25-5).

Georgetown, looking to land a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, squandered an early 16-point cushion and fell behind briefly in the second half before clamping down with its signature defense.

No. 17 Pittsburgh 59

NEW YORK — James Southerland had a second straight great effort from 3-point range and Michael Carter-Williams scored Syracuse's last seven points as the 19th-ranked Orange held off Pittsburgh in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament.

Southerland had 20 points as he did in the second-round win over Seton Hall. The senior was 6 for 6 on 3s against Pittsburgh, a day after going 6 for 9 from beyond the arc against Seton Hall.

Carter-Williams had 11 points and seven assists for the fifth-seeded Orange (25-8), who will meet top-seeded Georgetown in the semifinals tonight.

Lamar Patterson had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the fourth-seeded Panthers (24-8).